Parents need to know that "Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2" is an action adventure game that's the latest collaboration between Lego and Marvel, with an original story that brings together a massive collection of heroes and villains. The game is easy to play for gamers of all ages and skill levels, and features strong elements of teamwork and puzzle solving. While there's violence in the game, it's presented in a very cartoonish and stylized nature, with objects and characters simply breaking apart like toys before disappearing from the screen. Parents should also be aware that the game does feature optional expanded downloadable content (with more to come), which requires an additional online purchase.

WHAT'S IT ABOUT?

In "Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2," it's not just the fate of the world at stake, or even the universe; all of time itself is at risk. When the time traveling despot, Kang the Conqueror, arrives high above the Earth, he launches an all-out assault as part of his latest scheme to rule the universe. When the world's greatest super heroes are unable to stand against Kang's power, it's time to find some unlikely reinforcements. Heroes from every corner of the Marvel Universe join together in an epic display to bring down this cosmic threat ... and have more than just a little fun doing it. From Captain America to Gwenpool, Star-Lord to Forbush Man, Squirrel Girl to Rocket Racoon, it's every Marvel fan's dream come true, brought to you as only Lego can.

IS IT ANY GOOD?

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Whenever Lego and Marvel join forces, it's always a collaboration on par with the greatest superhero team-ups and comic book crossover events. "Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2" is no different, with an epic original adventure starring a robust cast of characters pulled from nearly every corner of Marvel's deep history. Even the most hardcore Marvel fan might be hard pressed to remember some of the more obscure characters, but thankfully, the game's character selection screen includes handy character cards that sum up not only characters' abilities, but their history in the Marvel Universe as well. It's the little things like these, as well as the seemingly trivial details (such as Star-Lord whipping out his Walkman and jamming out to some classic rock), that make the game a true love letter to Marvel comic fans new and old.

Of course, all the characters and trivia in universe don't add up to much of anything if the game isn't actually any fun to play. Thankfully, that's not the case here. There are plenty of puzzles to solve, some basic and some more complex, requiring the use of certain characters' special skills and abilities. There's the toy on toy combat and rampant environmental destruction that the games are known for. "Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2" doesn't try to reinvent the wheel, but rather it takes the parts that fans have loved about the Lego games, fine-tunes it all, and crams in more content until the final package is almost bursting at the seams.

RATING AND CONTENT

Recommended for ages 10 and older

Quality: 5 out of 5

Positive messages: 4 out of 5

Positive role models: 3 out of 5

Ease of play: 4 out of 5

Violence: 2 out of 5

Sex: 0 out of 5

Language: 0 out of 5

Drinking, drugs, and smoking: 0 out of 5

Consumerism: 4 out of 5 (Are products/advertisements embedded? Is the title part of a broader marketing initiative/empire? Is the intent to sell things to kids?)

GAME DETAILS

Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One

Price: $59.99

Developer: Warner Bros. Games

Release date: November 14, 2017

Genre: Action/Adventure

ESRB rating: E10+ for cartoon violence

Common Sense Media is an independent nonprofit organization offering unbiased ratings and trusted advice to help families make smart media and technology choices. Check out our ratings and recommendations at www.commonsense.org.